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The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychological response to changes in temperature and humidity near the skin, and the psychological factors of thermal discomfort.

The experiments involved changing the temperature and humidity from a neutral to a hot-humid environment, and vice versa, every 30 min. The psychological response to temperature (which ranged from 24 to 40°C) and humidity (which ranged from 30 to 80% relative humidity) was investigated.

The sensory scores shifted according to the direction of the change in temperature and humidity. The environment seemed to be evaluated relatively, whereby the sensory perception was dependent on the prior thermal environment. The psychological response to changes in temperature and humidity near the skin tended to shift from simple situational perceptions, such as feeling hot, to stifling and uncomfortable perceptions, and finally to the perception of dullness. Examining the psychological components revealed that the uncomfortable feeling was affected by “stifling” and “sweaty” perceptions with increasing temperature, by “stifling”, “sweaty”, and “sticky” perceptions with decreasing temperature, by “stifling”, “dull”, “sticky”, and “hot” perceptions with increasing humidity, and by “sweaty”, “dull”, and “humid” perceptions with decreasing humidity.

This study identified the psychological response that accompanies changes in temperature and humidity near the skin, as well as the psychological components of discomfort associated with changes in temperature and humidity. These results provide insights into the microclimate and thermal comfort of clothing.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the physique difference and psychophysiological response under clothing pressure by a waist belt.

The influences of clothing pressure on physiological and psychological responses were evaluated by the following measurements: functional near-infrared spectroscopy, electrocardiogram and sensory evaluation. The authors investigated the correlation between the anthropometric data and psychophysiological response data.

There were significant correlations between body fat and physiological responses. It was suggested that differences in body fat affect changes in cerebral hemodynamics and heart rate due to clothing pressure. It is inferred that the participants having lower body fat reacted more sensitively to the compression stimulus, while those having higher body fat were more tolerant of physiological reactions to compression stimulus.

This paper has presented the necessity of clothing comfort evaluation considering individual differences in physique due to body fat.

This paper argues for the immediate use of Kansei engineering to help deal with the chaotic situation of poorly implemented and disconnected technologies. A theoretical criticism of the current industrial capitalism, together with the promotion of a new post‐industrial form of capitalism, lays the foundation for an explanation of how this transition can be achieved through a proper understanding of Kansei. A detailed explanation of the interactive production system apparel demonstrates the benefits to both manufacturers and consumers. The paper concludes that the application to apparel is just one of the many potential applications to improving the lifestyle and enjoyment of individuals in the entire society.

In Japan, one of the countermeasures used to avoid the symptoms of hay fever (HF) is a hygiene mask; however, a mask can cause discomfort. The authors believe that co-occurrence analysis, which has been widely in the sciences, will be valuable to this issue. The purpose of this paper is to identify problems associated with the use of hygiene masks and recommend improvements in their function and comfort. The goal of this study was to obtain information for the development of effective hygiene masks for HF sufferers and therefore, improve their quality of life.

The authors conducted a survey of university students with HF (n=1,519) to identify problems with hygiene masks. Students completed self-report questionnaires and co-occurrence analyses were used to examine the data from a holistic perspective. Moreover, technical data, relative to the problems of wearing a mask were acquired experimentally using thermal, hygroscopic, and airflow properties.

Among Japanese university students, hygiene masks were the most popular countermeasure against HF symptoms. In addition, it was found that wearing a mask was not influenced of the type of symptoms. Most problems were related to the masks’ thermal, hygroscopic, and airflow properties.

The paper proposed the use of co-occurrence analysis to analyze problems with hygiene masks. Most problems appear to be related to the thermal, hygroscopic, and airflow properties of the masks. Moreover, such phenomena have been experimentally demonstrated.